A Lion's Light
by Screaming Kittycat
Summary: A Prime Naaru had seen the Champion of the Alliance, the Saviour of Azeroth in her dreams for many centuries and one day, it was able to bring her to the world of Azeroth from another. Danielle Fey was new to the world and scared, unable to understand why she was so important to Azeroth's survival. Luckily, Varian Wrynn, King of the Alliance, was there to help her see her worth.
1. The Encounter

Danielle Fey did not have an exciting life. She led an average life of home and University and rarely went outside to hang with friends or go to a club. She was content to sit on her couch and eat junk food whilst watching youtube all day. The only time she went out was when she had to go to her Masters in Arts or go shopping but other than that she was too lazy to do anything else.

"Dani, go out and get some snacks" her elder sister, Chloe, said from the door to her bedroom.

"Why me?" Danielle replied in a lazy drawl mixed in with a whine.

"Because I did last time and you owe me" Chloe replied with a smug tone and mischievous smirk.

Danielle groaned and looked up at the ceiling before saying "fine, but if I get mugged or killed I'm blaming you" she stood from her couch and got dressed quick. Once she had some warm clothes on she grabbed her bag, wallet, keys, and phone before heading out "see ya!" she shouted to her sister before walking out into the night.

As she walked through the dark streets she clenched her hands into fists tightly. She wasn't made of money so her and her sister lived in a low economic area in the south-east of Queensland, Australia. Many people have been stabbed and robbed on the very street she was walking on. She knew how to hold off a guy just enough for someone to come out and help or call the police but you always want to be cautious regardless.

A chime rang in her ear that sounded much like a bell yet it had a strange echo that made it seem otherworldly. You'd think she would turn away and hurry to a place where she could be safe but that wasn't the case. Her curiosity overwhelmed her survival instincts and instead of heading to the 24-hour petrol station she followed the strange sound.

The more she got closer the louder the chime rang until it sounded like a choir of ethereal angels. She wondered why no one had left their homes to investigate, was it only she who could hear the hymns?

She arrived at the noise and what greeted her was unlike anything she had ever seen before. A golden being floated before her, it looked to be made of different golden shards that would twirl and twist every so often. A pale golden glow surrounded the being that reminded her of an angel.

The second strange anomaly was a shadow being, it had broad shoulders and thick arms, it's chest and back-thinned to a small point with no legs at all. Like the golden being, he too was surrounded by a pale glow yet it was a blue color that matched the black and purple the creature was made of. It was not a creature made of flesh and bones, if she had to describe it as simple as possible, it looked to be created entirely of shadow.

Danielle gasped when the shadow creature swiped the being of light with one of his mighty clawed hands. The golden being let out a hymn of pain and bent back slightly as if to get away from the dark creature.

She didn't know why, whether it was stupidity or bravery – perhaps a bit of both – she ran in and pushed the golden being out of the way of another strike from the shadow beast. She screamed loudly in pain as the claw tore her side from shoulder to hip. It seemed her sacrifice surprised the shadow thing for it stepped back and stared at her with a tilt of its head.

The golden being took the moment of silence to shoot a strong golden blast at the shadow being that made it fly back a few paces. It then turned its attention to the gasping and moaning woman lying on the floor. Such a brave soul, so pure, so strong. It appeared that she was the one it was searching for. With that in mind, the being of light glowed a brilliant light that consumed the area. You could hear the shadow being yelling in pain as the light scorched him.

The being began to crumble into a glittering dust that swirled in the air. Once the being was completely dust it swirled down to the wounded girl and surrounded her. The girl went still as she was forced into a deep slumber. With the last of its power, the dust settled on the girl's body before it was absorbed into her completely.

The shadow creature screeched as it watched the girl and its enemy disappear in a brilliant light, back to the universe they were birthed in. It let out one last screech of pain as the being closed the breach, disconnecting it to its power. its body separated and soon enough, it was no more.

Though its death did not mean the shadow had lost, no, when one died another would take its place. The world of Azeroth and beyond would be consumed by the void.

* * *

Danielle was floating in space, literally. There were strange planets she had never seen before and wispy clouds of various colours streaming through the sky. Stars covered every darkened spot, they were beautiful up close. There was no sound in space but for the chiming hymns of the creature she had saved "where am I?" Danielle asked in awe and wonder.

"You are a long way from home, child" the being's voice was angelic and soothing, it instantly put the girl at ease.

"What are you? If you don't mind me asking?"

"My name is Tal'zera, and I am what is known as a Prime Naaru, a being of pure light, tasked with protecting our world from the creatures of darkness."

"The shadow being" if the Naaru could nod it would.

"It is a being of the void, a creature of darkness and evil that seeks to cover the universe in shadow. You had saved me from one such creature. One more strike and I would have been powerless."

"I'm sure I am going to feel that later" she joked, which earned her laughter from the Naaru.

"Yes, right now I have placed you into a deep slumber so the merging is complete."

"Merging?"

"When you fell asleep, I destroyed my physical body so that my life essence could flow into you, it saved your life."

"You…you're inside me?"

"Yes, and with the last of my power I brought you to my world and closed the breach so that Void Lord could not return. It has cost me my life. A breach has never been opened before and can never be opened again, I am sorry but you cannot return."

"But! You took me from my home! Why would you do that!?" would she ever be able to see her family again?

"It pained me to take you from your home but It had to be done. The greatest evil the universe has ever known will come to my world once again. My siblings do not know this fate, they are more concerned with the immediate threat to see what the real darkness is."

"And what does this have to do with me? I'm not part of your universe so the darkness would not affect me."

"I have dreamed of our encounter since the moment I came to be, and with that encounter, I saw you, a being from another world, triumphing over the Void and all other evil that threatens the world. You are at the center of it all. I would have been content to leave you but it would solidify the destruction of my home. In this instance, I had to be selfish."

"Why me?…I'm a nobody."

"The light works in mysterious ways, it saw something within you that no one else has" The being floated closer to Danielle, enveloping her in its warmth. "your journey begins soon, you will awaken from your slumber in an unfamiliar place with strange people and even stranger powers. I am sorry that I cannot be there for you but my soul is dying. I am not long for the afterlife."

"I need you! You've taken me to another world and you're going to leave me!? I can't survive without you!" Danielle shouted desperately, how could she hope to be this hero without Tal'zera helping her. It was impossible.

"Do not doubt yourself, you are destined for great things. Have faith and show the strength and bravery you showed me when you saved my life at the expense of your own." Danielle felt her vision blur and her consciousness tingle. "You will be safe in the light, they will protect you…" the being's voice trailed off as Danielle fell into a deep slumber. Soon, she would awaken to her new life.

In the Kingdom of Gilneas.


	2. Settling in to your new life

When a strange light appeared in his chambers late at night, Genn Greymane had no idea how to react to a young woman appearing from it. His first thought was to stand in front of his wife and protect her from the danger, his next was to ask himself how a woman managed to appear in a room that had incredibly strong protection wards surrounding it so no one could enter with magic. He had shouted for his guards who immediately rushed inside. "My King!" one of the knights shouted as he and his other knights drew their swords and pointed them at the unconscious girl. She was incredibly strange. Her attire consisted of a grey woollen jumper with a bright blue fist on the front. Her pants were black but just as thick. Her hair was a light brown at the top that faded to a grey blonde at the bottom. She also had multitudinous earrings on both her ears. This was a strange woman who could be very dangerous.

"Stop!" Mia, his wife, ordered strongly. The knights immediately followed their Queens request and put their swords away, though they were still wary of the intruder "can't you see this is an unarmed woman! And look" she pointed to the large claw like wound that was pulsing with darkness "she has clearly been attacked by a Void Walker, no doubt conjured by an enemy Warlock."

"My love, she appeared in our room that is heavily warded to stop such an act," Genn said to his wife wearily. No matter how innocent this woman appeared to be she was still a threat.

"And we shall get to the bottom of this, for now, we shall bring her to a guest room and have her healed immediately" despite Genn being the King you could never disobey the Queen, she had a strength and power in her words and demeanor that warned against disobeying her.

"Very well" Genn sighed and looked at his guards "do as she says…and be gentle" the knight who shouted earlier nodded to his King and gently pulled the unconscious woman into his arms. He nodded to his rulers once more before taking the woman to the guest room. "Come, my love, we must be there to hear what the healer has to say" Mia nodded and followed her husband to the guest room just as the royal priestess arrived.

"My lord, my lady, what has happened!" the priestess said frantically, thinking that one of her rulers were hurt "are you alright?"

"We are fine, but a young woman has been injured by a Voidling and needs to be healed immediately" the priestesses eyes widened.

"A Voidling you say? A mortal cannot survive a shadow wound" she rushed into the room and over to the unconscious woman on the bed "oh dear, such a terrible wound" her clothing had been torn where the Voidling attacked her, most would be dead but the priestess hoped she could save the poor girl. "How came you by her?"

"She appeared in our chambers by a white light" Genn replied.

"It takes immense power to breach the wards our strongest mages have installed." She brought her hands to the wound and allowed her magic to envelope it. Using both her healing abilities and the blessing of the light, she began healing the wound. She watched in relief as the void touch disappeared and the wound closed so that it was a mere scar. Once the healing was done she used her powers in the light to examine the woman, anyone who could create such power had to be more than just a mere mortal.

When she reached the woman's chest she gasped and her eyes widened "my word!"

"What is it?" Genn hurried out, wanting to know what had shocked the priestess.

"This woman has been blessed by the light, she has the essence of a Prime Naaru within her" the woman was in awe "the Naaru has saved her life, anyone mortal would have died when touched by a Voidling."

"A Naaru?" Genn had heard of the Naaru from the Draenei that he had corresponded with in the past. The strange alien creatures were new beings to Azeroth and it was Genn and the King of the Alliance job to make sure they were on the Alliance's side. Whilst Gilneas was allied with the Alliance, they weren't active participants, the King was content to leave the problems of the world to the others so long as they did not reach his shores.

"Yes, you can be at ease now my liege, no being with a malicious or malevolent soul can host a Naaru, she is of no threat."

"That may be so but we do not know her, for now she will be treated with cautiousness until we can find out the reason for her injury" Genn replied "you may be excused, I will send for you if anything goes wrong" the priestess bowed to her majesties and left the room. "let us return to our chambers my love, there is nothing left to do but wait until she wakes" his wife nodded and allowed him to lead her to their room.

* * *

Danielle opened her eyes and stared at the roof above her, where was she? She sat up and winced slightly at the muscles aching on the right side of her body. It was that pain that brought everything back. Tal'zera and the shadow monster, the Light, Azeroth. She looked around the room to get an idea of where Tal'zera sent her. It looked to be made of dark grey stone with rich tapestries and birch wood furniture. There were no lights that you could turn on with a switch, only torches. Her bed was queen sized and covered in thick furs that looked to be skinned off a wolf or bear.

 _"_ _So Azeroth is not as advanced as Earth…how curious."_ She thought to herself, it was strange how accepting she was of her fate. She should be rebelling, screaming at the Light to take her home and yet…she did not open her mouth, her eyes did not narrow and her brows did not lower. Maybe it was Tal'zera's essence that kept her from freaking out, either way, she had to learn quickly on how to adapt to her new life.

The door slowly opened and a man walked inside, when he noticed she was sitting up and staring at him he gasped "my word! You are awake!" he quickly hurried out of the room, which confused and amused the woman. She waited for either the man or someone else to come to her room.

Soon enough, a different man in rich clothing with a thick-furred cloak walked inside. He looked to be around 40 to 50 years old, his brown hair had little bits of grey growing in various places and a thick beard that made him look as if he had bear blood within him. Shortly after him, a younger man with bright orange hair fashioned into a ponytail and a neatly trimmed beard that only grew on his chin walked inside "I see you have finally awakened, you have been asleep for almost a week" the elder man had a deep and soothing voice that he obviously used to keep Danielle from panicking.

"That shadow monster must have weakened me quite a bit" she gave him a hesitant smile "could you perhaps tell me where I am?" maybe she would know of this place, maybe she wasn't in Azeroth at all, just a different part of Earth.

"You are in the kingdom of Gilneas" she had no idea where that is "you seem confused."

"Yes, umm…about that…you see…" she really did not know how to explain her origins without sounding completely insane "I am…not from your world…" she finished lamely.

The two men looked at her with a serious expression, that was an impossible feat for any to accomplish but they were not without reason "tell me, how would this be possible?" the younger man asked.

"I was walking to a shop late at night when I stumbled upon two beings fighting. One was light whilst the other was dark. I saved the light creature by taking an attack by the shadow. I fell asleep shortly after but I was spoken to by a creature called a Naaru, she was called Tal'zera. She gave her life up to save me and placed her life essence into me. She told me that…well that she saw me in a vision…I was fighting something called the Void Lords. That's all I know, I swear I'm from another world called Earth." She took in a deep breath after not taking one during her explanation. She was sure she was going to be sent to the loony house.

"I see…" the elder man said deeply, he was trying to process this. He was not one to go against the Light but her confession seemed highly unbelievable

"This is hard to believe but I am not one to disregard the Lights intervention." The young man looked at the elder man, no doubt they were related. Father and Son perhaps?

"When you arrived you appeared right in my bedroom that has the strongest wards in place to prevent such an occurrence from happening. No mage, not even Medivh himself could breach those wards that have been created and strengthened for centuries." Mage? The earth woman guessed it was someone that used magic of some kind.

"Sorry, I don't know what a mage is."

"They are versed in the arcane, frost and fire magic" the young man explained, she nodded to him in thanks. "I believe her Father. The Light would not bring her through worlds just for a social call. She must be here for a reason, and sent to us for a specific purpose."

"We are at peace Liam. There is no danger here" the elder man said strongly, he was not a man to trifle with.

"You know that may be wrong Father. Many have felt the danger in the air."

"Enough, Liam." the man snapped harshly "we will speak of this another time" he turned back to Danielle "tell me, what is your name?"

"Danielle Fey" she gave him a kind smile.

"A pleasure, I am King Genn Greymane of Gilneas and the boy beside me is my son, Liam Greymane and heir to the throne" she blinked slowly in surprise.

"I've never met royalty before. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave him a nod as she could not bow without her body hurting.

"I am glad we are your first" Liam said flirtatiously, despite her being a stranger she was incredibly beautiful, he would be stupid to not take a chance.

"I would prefer if you would not flirt when I am here," Genn said strongly yet his fond smile said something different. He must love his son very much.

Danielle gave Liam a sweet smile before turning to the King "what is going to happen to me?" she hoped he would not send her to prison or execute her. It wasn't her fault she appeared in his bedroom.

"You can be at ease, this is not your doing. If you are meant for something greater I will not stop you. For now, rest and allow your wounds to heal. I shall decide what how we shall explain your strange appearance to my people." He gave her an amused smile "I cannot tell them that a strange woman appeared in my chambers in the middle of the night. The things people would say…" he smiled at her giggle.

"You can say whatever you want, as long as it's not that" he nodded and turned to leave.

"I shall send a healer to check your wounds. I am sure you are hungry, I will also get someone to fetch you some food." He looked to his son "you shall leave as well Liam. You will have plenty of time to converse with her when she is fully healed."

Liam nodded though he was disappointed.

"Good day, my lady" they nodded to the woman and left her alone.

 _"_ _What a strange way to appear in another world…Tal'zera had a strange sense of humor…_ " she giggled before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

She rested in bed for a week before she was able to leave it. Once her hip to shoulder was completely healed, Tess Greymane, the Princess and youngest of the Greymane family, had dragged her all over the castle for a grand tour. The young royal was a pleasing person to hang around, she was kind, sweet and had a wit that would make many speechless. Despite her outwards innocent she was an incredibly intelligent woman who knew more than she let on. She knew exactly who Danielle was and how she appeared, which was her favorite thing to tease the Earth girl about.

The castle was quite large and had taken nearly the whole afternoon to scour until dinnertime. Liam had tagged along for a few rooms before he was needed for other duties. He was next in line to the throne and had to be well prepared before his ascension.

Genn and Mia were the nicest people you would ever meet. Genn was a little stern in matters he deemed important but once you get past that he was great to talk to. When he wasn't busy he sat down with her in his study and explained everything he could about the world of Azeroth. He told her of the two factions, Horde and Alliance, and every race within them. Then he told her of all the weapons of war from priests to warrior.

Then he told her of all the wars the world faced. First was an army of demons called the Burning Legion. Then came a man called the Lich King who raised people from the dead, luckily a few Death Knights rebelled and helped to kill the King of the Dead. The Kingdom of Lordaeron was taken over by part of the Horde known as the Forsaken. They were undead that were raised by the Banshee Queen Sylvannas Windrunner who was turned into a banshee by the Lich King. The biggest and never-ending fight was between the Horde and Alliance, they absolutely hated each other and believed that only one faction should control Azeroth. Danielle thought that was a bit ridiculous and a little racist. Many of the Alliance believed that the races of the Horde were lesser than them and she was sure the Horde thought the same.

All these world tragedies made the Earth girl realised that the wars Earth had were small and insignificant compared to Azeroths.

"My wife has come up with an idea to not arouse suspicion if you would like to hear it?" Genn offered at dinner, the entire family were present this time. Usually, Genn would take his food to his study and Liam would sometimes do the same.

"Of course, anything to make my stay easier" Danielle replied whilst sending a grateful smile to the Queen.

"The nobles of the court have yet to be notified of your arrival and when we do they will not be happy to know a commoner lives within the castle," she said exasperatedly, Mia had been raised in the court life since she was born but had never liked it. Nearly all nobles were selfish and bigoted. Her own father was the same, he married her to Genn at a young age and though she had fallen in love with him rather quickly it was heartbreaking to know that her father only saw her as an object to trade for more wealth and power. "That is why Genn and I have decided to adopt you as our daughter."

Danielle was silent as she stared at the Queen with wide eyes "are…are you sure? I've only been here for a month, you don't know me well enough to do such a thing."

"We know you well enough" Genn replied kindly "you have a kind heart and did not deserve to be taken from your home. I have seen your pain and loneliness when you think we do not notice" the Earth woman blushed and looked at her plate "this is not damaging our station and it is not a rash decision. We agreed to do this quite a while ago but have continued to deliberate until now. This will keep the nobles off our backs and ensure your safety."

"Adopting someone with no home appeases many of the nobles if anything it makes them relieved that they don't have to fight to get their daughter engaged to me" Liam joked with a hearty laugh. He supposed it wasn't a bad idea to have Danielle as a sister, she made it very clear to him that he had no chance with her. She saw him as a kind friend or brother, he supposed that would have to do.

"I…thank you, this is the most generous thing anyone has ever done for me" she gave Mia and Genn the kindest smile she could muster. To willingly adopt someone from another world into their family just because she no longer had hers…no words could describe her gratitude.

"Of course dear" Mia replied softly "you have had so much taken from you, you deserve to have some comfort in your life."

"I shall inform the public soon" Genn continued "you will have to go to many public affairs, and you must represent my house with dignity. I do not bring you into my house lightly. You are blessed with the light and cannot be allowed to be left unchecked. I priest with no knowledge of how to control her powers can be dangerous so I bring the royal priestesses to train you in the ways of the light and a swordsman to teach you in the ways of the sword. You may be a woman but even Tess and Mia knows how to fight."

"I won't let you down" she nodded to him.

"Enough of this serious talk, let us eat dinner in peace" everyone nodded to Tess and finished their meals.

Danielle Greymane. It suited her.


	3. A Beastly Fate

The life in Gilneas was vastly different to hers on Earth. For one, Danielle had suddenly become royalty, that was something she will never get used to. As ordered by the King, she attended every social gathering from Tess' birthday to the celebration of her adoption.

Along with her new duties, she trained every day. In the morning she had lessons in the Light with the royal priestess Cathleen. That was difficult. Her power was technically not her own, it was raw and had yet to fully merge with her soul. It would take some time before she was fully proficient enough to cast barriers or heal properly.

It was because of that that she was trained more in dual wielding so she had some way of defending herself. Wielding a sword was an even bigger challenge than using the Light. Using her magic was exhausting but swords were exhausting along with painful, she lost count of how many cuts and bruises she had.

It wasn't like in the movies, instead of practicing with wooden swords she was taught with real swords, they were blunted but still made minor cuts when swung strongly. Her teacher, a gruff spy who was excellent with daggers, was a ruthless teacher that thought that you learned faster when you were injured. She hated her teacher but he was right, every injury helped her to learn quicker. She was far from being a skilled duelist but she could hold her own against one person, more than one? She'd be dead.

The Earth girl was now a true citizen of Azeroth as she had been living in the castle for an entire year now. She wasn't the same anymore, her body was no longer chubby and thick, instead, it was replaced with muscles.

Everything was going perfect, the vision Tal'zera had seen disappeared in the back of Danielle's mind. Until today… "my lord! There is trouble in the city!" of the King's knights shouted to both the King, Liam, and Danielle.

"What King of trouble?" Genn ordered.

"P-people are being murdered," the knight said desperately.

"Can you identify the attackers?" Liam asked.

"N-no, everyone is dead, we can't get any information. It's our priests that found out people are dying."

"Liam, Danielle. Take a few of the royal guards and head to the Merchants Square, protect our people" Genn ordered. "I will head further in."

"Yes father" Liam nodded and turned to Danielle "come, Dani, we must hurry" she nodded to him and hurried out of the castle. It was a long ride from the castle to the Market square as it was on the other side of Gilneas. They grabbed one horse as Danielle was terrible at riding.

"Guards! What is your report!" Liam ordered once they arrived.

"Your Highnesses!" one of the guards shouted "Gilneas city has been placed under complete lockdown. We have been unable to ascertain what has been going on in the other areas, the Merchants square has been untouched."

"Where is Lieutenant Walden?"

"Last we saw he was heading to the end of the square."

Liam looked to Danielle "take two guards with you and see where he is" she nodded and motioned for the closest guards to accompany her "and be careful."

"Of course" she replied as she walked through the back alleys.

"My lady!" one of her guards shouted as ge stared at a dead body. She headed over and noticed deep claw marks littering the corpse "it looks as though Walden was attacked by a wolf."

She shook her head "these claw marks look too big to be a wolf, perhaps a bear?" she turned away from the dead lieutenant "we must return and inform Liam at once."

"Yes, my lady."

What they saw when they return shocked them all. It was neither a wolf nor a bear that attacked Walden.

It was a werewolf.

All of the guards were being attacked by vicious humanoid beasts that clawed and bit without mercy. "Liam!" Danielle shouted as she drew her blades and stabbed the neck of the werewolf that was going to attack Liam from behind. His horse had been spooked and scattered off, leaving them stranded.

"Danielle! Thank the light you are ok!? There are worgen everywhere!" so that is what they were called "Worgen! I warned my father that Archmage Arugal's creations were dangerous! But where are they coming from!?"

"There are way too many for them to be the Archmage's creations, they are coming from outside of Gilneas!" Danielle offered.

"I suppose it doesn't matter. Stay by my side and help me make quick work of them! We must save the villagers trapped within their homes. Gwen has gotten the guards to gather supplies and kill as many beasts as possible" she nodded and drew her swords "only attack one at a time, if there are anymore call for me or a guard but do not leave my side!" she nodded once more but focused on the beast that charged at her.

It was not a skilled brutalist that knew how to attack with fists, it was wild and random. All it wanted to do is claw and bite any inch of her it could get. She leaned back at every bite and used her swords to slice the hands of the beast when they got close. It howled mightily and stumbled back as she pierced its neck, killing it slowly. She wanted a quick kill but in a battle that was near impossible. Especially for someone who has only had a year to learn.

Liam and Danielle went to every house in the Merchants Square. Nearly all houses had a worgen inside, some villagers were already dead but others were screaming as they ran from their homes. "Gwen! Take Danielle over the bridge to the Military district to make sure our people are evacuated! I will stay to cover your retreat" Liam ordered Gwen who nodded and pulled Danielle along with her.

Gwen's fine skills with a sword helped her to slaughter all worgens in her path. Without much hassle as they had gathered the other fighters, they got to Genn and Lord Godfrey at the main gate of the Military district "Danielle! Thank god you yet live!" Genn shouted in relief when he saw his adopted daughter he had come to care so much about running towards him. "where is Liam?"

"He's fine, he ordered us to evacuate the villagers whilst he covered our retreat. The worgens have overrun the Merchants Square."

"We need more men, we cannot hope to survive whilst we are divided…" Genn sighed deeply when he realized what he must do "we must get help. Darius Crowley had been called many things…traitor…rebel…terrorist…Before the war, I called him a friend. I never blamed him for leading an insurrection against me. His land and people were separated from Gilneas by a stone wall…but we had no choice. Regardless…Crowley is exactly the type of person we need now" Genn jumped off his horse and drew his sword "you and I will enter Stoneward Prison and ask Captain Broderick about Crowley's whereabouts. I'd send my own men, but I believe I need to do this myself. You will come with me so you do not leave my sight. When I sent you out here, I did not realize I would be sending you to the wolves."

"We need to move quickly, then" Danielle said over the fighting "who knows if the prison has been overrun" Genn nodded and rushed forward with Danielle running shortly behind. Lord Godfrey stayed behind to order the army to cover the Kings back.

They battled their way through the worgens and hurried inside the prison's entrance "Captain Broderick!"

"My King!" the Captain shouted as he bowed "what are you doing here?"

"I need to get Crowley."

Broderick looked at Genn as if he grew two heads "Save Crowley? But he started a rebellion to overthrow you?"

"We do not have time to stew over grudges, Crowley is needed to save our people. Do not fight me on this Broderick" Genn ordered sternly.

"Very well, follow me upstairs, no doubt Darius has been overrun by now" they raced up the tower.

"Darius!" Genn shouted as he slew the last beast on the prison rooftop.

"Genn, what are you doing here" Darius growled as he raised his fist, no doubt thinking the King would attack him.

"I am not here to fight you, my people are dying and I need your skills in battle!"

Darius glared at Genn darkly for a few short moments before sighing "you are right…these beasts do not give a damn about our politics. Gilneas needs to stand together" he looked to one of his men that was laying on the floor, injured "one of those mangy fleabags got Dempsey real good. We cannot move him until we stabilize his bleeding."

"Leave him!" Captain Broderick shouted, "we must leave immediately!"

"I am not leaving him!" Darius shouted back.

"No, we are not. Danielle. Can you heal?"

Danielle blinked in shock "I…I am not the greatest but I think I can stabilize him so he can get to a better healer."

"That will be enough" Darius said as he looked at the young woman. He had heard of this woman, the new princess of Gilneas. Genn had adopted her after he found her bleeding on the steps of the castle. He had nursed her back to health and took pity on her. Lord Crowley had known Genn for many years and not once has Genn ever shown such kindness as to bring a stranger into his family. There must be something deeper going on behind closed doors. "We shall protect you."

"Thank you" she nodded to him and hurried to the wounded man's side "lay still and try not to move" she ordered the moaning man, he nodded and closed his eyes.

"Here they come!" Genn shouted as he readied his sword "get to healing Danielle!"

Danielle nodded and brought forth her healing Light, she focused all her energy on closing and mending as many layers of skin as possible. She could not remove the wound completely but she could close the it enough to stop the bleeding.

As she healed she tried to ignore the fighting going around her, the worgens could smell the man's blood and wanted to feast on the easy prey. She worked as fast as she could, working hard to fight against the exhaustion that tried to wash over her. "Are there anymore?!" Broderick shouted as the wave of beasts subsided.

"No," Darius said as he turned to Danielle "how does Dempsey fair?"

"I have done all I can, he can move but he is not strong enough to fight. I suggest we move now" she stood up and moved to Genn's side as the other men lifted Dempsey into their arms and began carrying him downstairs. "I will help you Genn…don't make me regret this."

"My people come first," Genn said strongly.

"Of course. There's a safe house not far from here, in Josiah's cellar. My lads stashed some heavy artillery there."

"Dare I ask what you were going to do with such artillery?" Genn asked deeply and slight anger.

"It was placed there long before I was thrown in prison" Darius growled, "I do not wish to fight, we need to go." They nodded and rushed back downstairs and back into the battle.

They rode to Josiah Avery's house and headed to the cellar to gather the artillery "Josiah?" Darius asked as he saw the man cowering in the corner on the other side of his cellar.

Danielle cautiously walked up to the man and placed a hand on his shoulder "Don't look at me! Leave me alone!" the man shouted as he pushed Danielle away. He swiped at her hand which caused her to cry out.

"Danielle!" Genn shouted as he watched helplessly as Josiah pounced on the fallen woman.

 **BANG**

Josiah fell to the floor, dead, as a bullet was lodged in his brain. The group turned around to see a gorgeous woman holding a musket with two dogs on either side of her "Lorna!" Darius shouted as she stared at his daughter.

"Father" she greeted her father warmly before turning to her King "he turned into one of them…didn't he? How do we even begin to fight an enemy that can do this to us?"

"We do what we can," Darius said darkly "my men can gather the artillery and set them up."

"My guards can create a barricade" Genn continued.

"Father, Krennan Aranas is trapped with a sea of worgens surrounding him" Genn cursed at the younger Crowley's words.

"We need him, he is the most brilliant alchemists this world has ever known. One of his potions saved my youngest daughter" he turned to Darius "I will ride through the worgens whilst you get Krennan. Will you ride with me?" he was trying to ignore the fact that Crowley smuggled in enough artillery that could level the entire Gilneas city, his people were more important. He could deal with Darius' weaponry when everyone was safe.

"Aye, I will ride with you."

"Lorna, stay with Danielle and Godfrey" Genn ordered as he left the cellar swiftly with Darius by his side.

"Are you alright Danielle?" Lorna asked with concern. Despite her father's treachery her and her mother were still apart of the royal court. She had met Danielle many times at many social gatherings and enjoyed her company. Her humor was different yet delightful and she was glad to have someone to accompany her on her hunts. Danielle did not like to kill defenseless animals but she still came with Lorna all the same. The princess also loved her two mastiffs, Blue and Brute.

"It was just a scratch, he had rather sharp fingernails" Danielle replied as she scratched her wound, it was incredibly itchy.

"We should get that looked at regardless."

"Do you think I may turn?" Danielle asked in a panic.

Lorna scoffed "Of course not. Only the mindless beasts have the ability to turn our people. You will not turn, otherwise you would be already" the priest in training was not soothed by the marksman's words, she felt an unsettling feeling in her gut. "come, we must see if father and our King has retrieved the alchemist" she nodded and followed Lorna upstairs.

"We got Aranas! Fire at will!!" they heard Godfrey shout as they left the cellar. The guards fired the heavy artillery and cheered as many of the worgens fell.

"This is not over, there are still many worgen further through Gilneas," Genn said sadly, this looked to be a losing battle. "what we do next will be a critical decision. if we can make it past the gates into Duskhaven, we will be safe. The eastern mountains are virtually impassable."

"We need to keep the worgens attention in the city" Darius commented, an idea was already formed in his head. "It's the only shot we have for the survivors to make it to Duskhaven."

"I'll stay behind with the Royal Guard, father. It is my duty to Gilneas" said Liam. He had followed his father through the worgens whilst they were rescuing Aranas.

"Not a chance, boy. Gilneas is going to need its King's undivided attention. Can't have your father wondering whether his child is alive or not. My men and I will hole up inside Light's Dawn Cathedral. I've already given the order and the cannons are on their way. Lead our people well, Genn."

Genn shook his head sadly "we were fools to take up arms against each other, Darius. The worgen would've never stood a chance" he looked down at his adopted daughter who began swaying slightly "Danielle?" he asked in concern.

"I…I don't feel so…" Darius sprang into action and pulled the young woman into his arms as she began to collapse.

"Dani!" Liam shouted as she jumped off his horse "what has happened!?"

"The battle must have taken its toll," Genn said as he too hopped of his horse and raced to the unconscious woman's side "that and she had to heal which takes much of her energy. I will take her on my horse" he took the woman from Darius and pulled her into his arms "be safe Darius."

"You too, old friend" the nobleman jumped on his horse and raced into the sea of beasts, throwing torches and explosives at the beasts so they would follow him.

"We must move now! He has them distracted!" Genn shouted to his people as he placed Danielle on his horse, he mounted behind her and made sure she was resting on his chest.

They raced through the mountains and all the way to Duskhaven. "Get her to a healer!" Genn shouted as he dismounted, he began to panic as Danielle started to convulse and spasm.

"No!" Godfrey shouted angrily "she must be taken to a cage!"

"How dare you!" Liam shouted angrily "she is not a beast!"

"Yes, she is" the nobleman hissed as he revealed the claw mark on the young woman's hand. Her skin was beginning to darken and fur was sprouting around it "it will not be long before she loses all that makes her, her."

Genn stared at his adopted daughter with a glare. It seems she was more susceptible to the curse than he was. He had yet to change as she was. Many of his people had fallen and began convulsing as the curse took them over. "Take all who are affected to cages and chains. Until we can find a cure, we must not let them roam free."

"Father!" Liam shouted in shock "you cannot do this to Dani."

"Right now, Dani is gone and a beast remains. I will not slaughter her, but I will not let her hurt herself or anyone else either" he turned to Krennan "can you make something to return our people's minds?"

"Yes," the alchemist replied confidently "your daughter will return to her normal self."

"Thank you," Genn said gratefully as he looked at his thrashing daughter. She did not deserve this fate. The Light could be cruel when they wanted. "put her in a cage."


	4. We Have Lost Everything

Clawing, biting, growling, snarling. That was all the beast could do whilst stuck in its cage. It wanted to be free, to run whilst with the other beasts, to run with its pack. It snarled at every creature that came near it, they were not its pack. Except for one, an elder creature would come to its cage every day for a few moments to feed it before walking away. It was a strange creature, it smelt the same but did not look the same. It looked like food but was not food at all. The creature in the cage would not snarl or try to attack the creature like it did the others, it would merely stare at it until it left. It supposed the being wasn't all bad, it did come with food every day, it wouldn't let anyone else feed her.

It was stuck in that cage for an entire month, unable to have the freedom it so desired. It finally gave up fighting to escape. It could do nothing but sleep the day away.

Until it got the freedom it so terribly wanted.

Genn Greymane had been waiting impatiently for Aranas to make a potion to return Danielle to her former self. It was, in fact, a night elf priestess, Belysra, who had helped create the cure. She explained the origins of the worgen curse, how it was a forbidden druid form that overwhelmed anyone who tried it with rage. It was Malfurion Stormrage who locked them away in the emerald dream, and it was Archmage Argual who let them out. When Belysra had found out, she had followed their trail to Gilneas and witness the destruction they wrought. Feeling guilty, she and her other priestesses offered to help battle the forsaken and cure the infected of their rage.

He was the first to be tested with the cure and felt relieved when it was successful. For many days he battled with the infection within him, rage pure rage. He turned his anger on the Forsaken destroying his lands but it became increasingly harder to remain human. It wasn't a permanent solution, it would not wash away the rage completely, but it would allow his mind to stay in control when he changed. He knew the rage did not stem entirely from the curse, when the rage of the beast is taken away his human rage remained. Due to his fiery blood, he would forever fight against the beast.

Luckily, with the cure, Danielle would not have to.

He was there when the curse overcame the poor girl, it started with her skin darkening to a grey pallor, then came the white fur. Once her body was covered her body began to change, her legs elongated, hands became claws, mouth became muzzle, and teeth became fangs. Her eyes slitted, her ears grew, and a thick, long tail grew out from her lower back. She had become a ghastly beast, much like he was. He was confused as to why she was white, she had told him that her hair color was not natural and was the product of hair dying but he knew she was blonde, not white. Perhaps it had something to do with the Naaru essence coursing through her, it was a plausible possibility though it was unfortunate that the Naaru's power could not purge the curse from within its host.

He felt pain as he watched her try to attack anyone who came near her, he wanted to soothe her but could do nothing but wait. She seemed to calm in his presence. The first time he came to her with food she went to attack him before sniffing the air deeply, after that she stopped her rage towards him and just stared at him curiously.

She did not deserve this curse, she was a sweet girl who was told she was to save Azeroth countless times. She was pulled from her world without her say and brought in a world with vile creatures that only wanted her destruction. It was unfair, and this dreadful curse was just another cruel fate placed on her.

Finally, after an entire month of punishing himself for not protecting her better, a ray of light shined in the dark. The potion was complete and was administered immediately. Genn wasn't afraid to admit that he left Danielle last in case of any harmful side effects. "This will work, your highness," Krennan said comfortingly, everyone could see the worry etched on the Kings face. He stayed in Duskhaven for the simple reason of not wanting to leave the young princess alone. He had sent Liam away when everyone began to change, they had trouble with some of the villagers hiding their change and attacking the uncursed villagers. He did not want his son becoming a beast like him.

"I know, but it does not make my worry lessen any."

"The cure will soak into her meat, she will be none the wiser" the alchemist passed on the large tray of meat the glowed a soft blue from the potion.

"All I care about is having her mind return to us" the King replied gruffly as he placed the tray through the slot of the cage. Danielle sniffed the air and opened both eyes, when she saw it was a slab of raw meat she moved from a sleeping position to a crouched position so she could devour what she thought was a carcass. She huffed at the offending taste of the potion soaked into the meat but otherwise continued to feast.

Genn and Krennan watched on with bated breath as she finished her meal. At first she remained crouched, perfectly still, as if her mind was lost in dreams. Then slowly, her body began to convulse and jerk widely. She growled in both pain and fear as her bones shrunk and her body began to change. Soon, the beast was gone and in its place was Danielle Greymane. "Thank the light" Genn muttered to himself as he opened the cage and pulled the naked woman into his arms. He got Aranas to remove his cloak and drape it over the bare lady to keep her dignity. "I will take her to my room and have her rest there. I shall call you or Belysra if you are needed" the alchemist nodded and watched the King walk away from the now empty cage.

* * *

Danielle felt like she had done the Kokoda trail 3 times when she woke. It felt as though she felt every bone in her body if that was possible. "finally…you're awake" a man said from her right. Standing above her was a tired but relieved Genn Greymane. "You've had quite a month."

"A month?...the last thing I remember was arriving in Duskhaven and then…nothing…"

"You were bitten and turned into a worgen. Krennan and a night elf priestess had made a cure to restore your humanity."

"Am I still a worgen?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I don't believe there is a cure for that" he looked so saddened by that.

"It's not so bad" she gave him a reassuring smile "I'm sure I have super strength, speed, stamina and increased senses. I'm sure I will be fine."

"Of course you will be" she didn't know why, but there was something about what he said that had a different meaning to it, it was as if he wasn't saying that to her. "Come on, time to get up. The Forsaken is still on our borders, Gilneas needs you" she nodded and got out of bed, her body was still aching but she was sure a little exercise would help to heal.

* * *

She battled her way through the forsaken, freeing every town she passed through with the King. Genn had soon met up with Belysra who offered to perform a ritual that would help them to no longer battle with their monstrous side. A ritual that would bring both man and beast together in harmony.

Now, the battle could begin.

* * *

The battle for Gilneas did not go as they planned. They had been doing so well, every time the Forsaken tried to take over a part of Gilneas, they would be pushed back or completely destroyed.

Gilneas was slowly becoming home once again. Even before the worgen curse they had been fighting off the Forsaken and winning.

Not anymore.

Genn had amassed an army of willing volunteers who would join him in taking back Gilneas from the undead. And with the courage of their royals behind them, they were confident in taking back their home.

Until Sylvanas came.

Danielle had been told about Sylvanas, she was a cruel woman who wanted to conquer the living and bring them under her power. Genn, Liam, and Danielle had found her in the center of the Military District. She had slaughtered all their soldiers without any difficulty or mercy. She would be able to destroy their entire army, they had to stop her.

"Enough!" Sylvanas shouted angrily as she let out a blast of power. Her enemies fell to the floor as her power rained down on them "let's see how brave Gilneas gets on without its stubborn leader!" the banshee queen drew her arrow back and aimed it at the King with the intent to strike a worgen Genn, down.

"No!" Danielle screamed just as Liam ran in alongside her. He dived in front of the queen's arrow before it could hit Genn.

"LIAM! NO!" Genn screamed as Danielle raced in with her sword drawn.

"Begone weakling!" Sylvanas growled at the princess. She used her bow to strike Danielle right across the chest so she went flying a few ways back "Such a waste. That arrow's poison was not meant to be wasted on your whelp. We'll meet again, Genn!" with that she rode off on her undead steed, angered by her lost yet ready to overrun the dreary kingdom.

Danielle rolled onto her stomach and crawled her way over to Liam who lay in his father's arms "we did it, father…sister."

"Let me heal you" Danielle raised her hands and allowed her magic to flow over the dying prince.

"we took back our city…we took back…" Liam's voice trailed off as he exhaled his last breath.

"No! Don't die on me!" Danielle screamed pitifully as her magic sputtered and faded.

"It is no use…Danielle…" Genn muttered weakly, all life had drained from him "he's gone."

"He can't be! He just can't!" she began sobbing uncontrollably as she laid her head on his chest, uncaring of the blood that soaked her skin. "he didn't deserve to die…"

"I know…" they sat still on the damp floor, ignoring the rain the soaked their clothes, the thunder that rumbled through the sky and the sobbing of each other's broken hearts. A great man had died that die, a man that never deserved such a horrid fate.

* * *

"May the Light bless the spirits of our ancestors, for they've chosen to allow my son to rest upon this holy ground," Genn said strongly as he stood before his sons grave. Only a few could attend the funeral of the lost prince. Darius, Lorna, Krennan, Genn, and Danielle were the only ones who could mourn at his grave, it was too dangerous for Mia and Tess to be near them. The spirits were restless as their graves had been disturbed, and orcs had covered the entire land and sky to make sure no one could get back into Gilneas. They had lost the battle, and with it so much more. "It is here, surrounded by the heroes and patriots of Gilneas where he belongs."

"You were a true man of the people, Liam" Lorna continued "unlike any royal I ever met. We'll make them pay for this."

Darius rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder and said, "Gilneas will remember your courage forever, Liam."

"I will never forget your kindness towards me, Liam" Danielle stuttered whilst sniffling. She was holding onto Genn's coat as he had an arm wrapped around her shoulder. She had never witnessed death before coming to Azeroth. Seeing unnamed people dying was bad enough, but witnessing the death of someone you cared about deeply and not being able to do anything to save them was horrible "despite not being of my blood, you are my brother. Forever and always."

"We'll return, Liam. I swear this to you" Genn promised with a hint of anger. The banshee queen would pay for murdering his son.

Soon the entire kingdom of Gilneas fled from their great nation on the boats of their allies, the night elves of Darnassus.


	5. The King of Stormwind

Staying in Darnassus had been hard on all Gilneans. They missed their home, their friends, and family. Gilneas was not truly a part of the Alliance, the moment they cut themselves off from the world they gave up their position. It was because of this choice that they were stuck in the city of elves without any help.

Malfurion Stormrage took pity on them and asked the representatives of the Alliance to come to Darnassus to hold a vote on whether the Gilneans should be let back into the Alliance.

Danielle was dressed in the finest clothes for the meeting, she was meeting the strongest people in Azeroth. She had heard stories of the great Varian Wrynn and was curious to see if he lived up to his legend. She hoped that he would heal old wounds and not get revenge on all of her people due to the actions of one man. Genn felt terrible guilt for all he had done, his isolation of his kingdom is what cost him his son. If he had remained with the Alliance, than perhaps Liam would be alive.

On the day of the meeting, both Genn and Danielle remained in their human forms to show good faith. Mia and Tess wanted nothing to do with the meeting, they were still mourning the loss of their son and brother. Danielle decided to join to give support to her father who had suffered so much.

The first to arrive was the Prophet Velen of the Draenei, he was surrounded by light, so much that Danielle could feel it radiating from him. The moment he stood before Danielle he gasped and rushed to her side, grabbing her hands and staring into her eyes intensely "you, have the essence of a Prime Naaru within you" he said in awe. Genn went to pull the man back but Danielle shook her head.

"Yes, a Naaru named Tal'zera saved my life by giving me hers."

Velen smiled and stepped back "you must be destined for greatness to have one such as Tal'zera give her life for you. If you ever need help in the ways of the light, please, talk to me."

"Of course" she nodded to him and watched him step back towards his people.

The Council of the three hammers came soon after. Unlike the other kingdoms, the Dwarves were not ruled by a king or queen. They were ruled by a council, and each hammer represented a different clan of Dwarves. First, there was Muradin Bronzebeard of the Bronzebeard clan, then Moira Thaurissan of the Ironforge clan and lastly Falstad Wildhammer of the Wildhammer clan. They seemed kind enough, if a little stern but Danielle supposed they had to be to be able to agree on anything.

Next were the Gnomes. They may have been short but they had power behind them, they were the ones who create most of the Alliances advancements. Their leader, High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque was quite intimidating with his constant scowl. He was not a man to be trifled with.

Last was the humans of Stormwind. The King, Varian Wrynn, was the largest man Danielle had ever seen. He looked as though he had muscles on his muscles. He wore the finest armor she had ever seen and the sword he carried radiated power. As he walked up towards them she could see a permanent scowl etched on his face, and with the scar that ran across his upper cheeks and nose, and another that ran over left his eye and eyebrow, he was the most intimidating man she had ever seen.

Beside him stood a young man, no doubt 13 or 14. He had short blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. From where he as standing beside Varian, he must have been the Kings son. The boy looked over at her and silently gasped as he stared into her eyes with shock. He must have been a priest and no doubt saw the Naaru within her, though his eyes seemed saddened by something as he gazed at her. She gave him a kind smile which he returned. She noticed the King staring at her strangely and gave him a respectful nod, he looked away quickly and did not look at her during the entire meeting.

"Thank you all for being here" Malfurion began, he stood beside his wife, Tyrande as the mediators for the meeting. "We may now begin."

Genn stood up from his chair and looked at all the representatives, he was beyond nervous. He had turned his back on these people and was now asking for an Alliance, he had low hopes that this meeting would work "I had made some terrible decisions years ago" he began solemnly "I had abandoned the Alliance for what I thought was the right course for my people. That proved to be a sorry mistake, what I'm saying is that I thank you all for giving us this second chance" the representatives could see the immense regret in the old king's eyes and sympathized with his loss, except for the King of Stormwind.

Varian stood from his seat and gazed over the group, he still remembered what Gilneas did. "members of the Alliance, my good night elf hosts, I'd like to speak. Everyone knows that there is no love lost between Stormwind and Gilneas, everyone knows why" utter silence fell over the room, all waiting for what the King had to say. "the benefits of an ally such as Gilneas offers us is obvious. Where our skills in combat more than match those of the orcs and their allies, there's always been a hunger that the Horde had thrived upon that we so civilized no longer seem to have. The worgen offer us that righteous hunger to overcome all obstacles in battle, to keep the Alliance from being splintered" Genn's eyes widened and Danielle felt a bit of hope flourish within her. "I considered damn long and hard on this. I promise you, such an ally could help us easily hold the Hordes ambition at bay, maybe even push them back. An ally with such honor, with such strength and courage, I would be more than pleased to fight beside."

His words caused the worgen who accompanied Genn and Danielle to howl in happiness and praise for the Kings words. The King turned his attention to Malfurion "Archdruids, you called before for a vote by acclamation, a vote that I interrupted. My apologies for letting it happen, I meant to speak sooner."

Malfurion smiled "I would be happy to call for it again King Varian."

"That…won't be necessary" the monarch's expression went from calm to incredibly dark, his scars made him look menacing. Genn took a step forward and placed Danielle behind him, thinking Varian would attack. Suddenly, Varian spat at Genn's face, causing all who witnessed to gasp "calling for it again would be a waste of time" he snarled "for I'd never give consent to allow these mongrels into the Alliance" Danielle gasped at such horrible words and went to speak her mind but Genn held her back. Many of the worgens snarled viciously at the King of Stormwind but was silenced by a loud growl by their own King "honor and trust, these are what the Alliance need not these beasts that even when they paraded as men were lacking in both. What happens if they choose to cut themselves off once more, would they even bother to give us a warning? Can we trust them to even do that?" Varian snapped his fingers and his soldiers stood at his side, his son following hesitantly "As I have already said to many, I have found nothing worthy, nothing honorable in this pack of hounds so I will never vote to dare admission back into the fold" and with that the King stormed off.

The other representative all jumped up in shock, all shouting at each other. How could they accept the Gilneans into the Alliance if the King of Stormwind would not do so? Danielle's hopes were dashed as she stared hatefully at the retreating King. Making her mind up, she would go to the King and give him a piece of her mind.

* * *

Danielle waited impatiently until Malfurion had finished failing to convince the King of letting her people into the Alliance. The Archdruid stepped out and blinked in surprise at seeing the young woman "my lady, it would not be wise to speak to the King."

"Unwise perhaps, but necessary. It is better to speak your mind than to let it fester within" the Druid nodded and moved out of the way so she could enter. She was nervous to speak to the intimidating King but she could not let the matter settle.

"I told you Malfurion I will have none of it" the King snarled from his seat, he was not looking up at the door so he did not notice it was not the Archdruid.

"You will have not of his words but you will certainly have mine" the King's eyes shot up as he stared at the angered glare of the woman before him.

"Who are you?" he asked gruffly, he had seen her at the summit and felt as if a ghost of his past returned. If she had completely blonde hair rather than only have half of her hair, she would have looked exactly like a younger version of his late wife, Tiffin. There were some slight differences but she was very similar, even the way she carried herself was similar.

"My name is Danielle Greymane, the adopted daughter of Genn and Mia Greymane. And it is because of this that I am speaking to you now."

"I will not listen to you, your words will not convince me to let you traitorous mutts into the Alliance" He growled, hoping his anger would scare her away. Looking at her pained him yet he did not want to look away.

"Of course not, you are no doubt as stubborn as a mule" she should have kept her mouth shut when speaking to a King but she could not control herself. She may have been cured of the rage of the beast within her but her human rage had not "I understand that you have bad blood with my father but you are condemning innocent people. Was it an innocent child that erected the wall. Was it a hard-working fisherman that ignored your refugees. Perhaps it was a pregnant woman that turned you away when you asked for aid. Tell me, which one of these people scorned you?"

Varian was stunned into silence, unable to come up with a response "that is what I thought. You are letting your rage take over you."

"And I suppose you know all about rage, seeing as your father is a beast." Danielle chuckled darkly and allowed the change to take her over. The first few time had been painful but now it was more akin to an uncomfortable crack you get when your joints are stiff.

Varian looked on shock as he stared at the snow furred worgen before him. She was not like the other wolves, whilst they were a range of black, brown and grey she was pure white. "I know all about it because I have suffered it" her voice was gruff now, much harsher than the soft and charismatic tone she had before "my people have suffered much, they have lost brothers, and sisters, sons, and daughters, mothers, and fathers, their homes have been taken and all that they were have been changed and yet here you are, denying them a home that they can mourn and rebuild from…" she looked down at the floor with deep sadness "do you know that before coming here I had lost my brother? He died whilst saving his father, Genn, from Sylvanas" Varian felt a familiar rage course through him at the banshee queens name. He had lost many great people to that witch. "she took our home and has turned it into a blighted land where she can raise her army to bring all the dead to her side…I know you don't want to think about it but imagine Genn and Liam being you and your son…imagine that for a moment, now realize how you would feel if you were rejected from the one place that could save your people after failing them." She returned to her human form and glared at him "then look at yourself and think about who the real beast is" with that she turned around with a flourish of her dark red dress and left the room, letting Varian ponder on her words alone.

* * *

Danielle stood and watched as Genn performed the ritual on the King of Stormwind, it seemed he too had an uncontrollable rage. Many years ago his soul had been split in two, Varian and Lo'Gosh. Lo'Gosh was a brash warrior filled with rage and a lust for war and battle. It was that side that wanted to completely take over the King. After realizing this, he had spoken to Genn and agreed to the ritual. Perhaps her words had gotten through to him, maybe then he would change his mind and accept her people. She watched on as his lost himself in his memories, both good and bad. His expression would vary from happiness to immense sadness. The King had suffered much but she had hoped that he would suffer no longer.

Soon the King opened his eyes and felt a small amount of peace wash over to him. "I was wrong. My rage had clouded my judgment and made me see you as the callous man of the past" Varian said to Genn once they stood from the floor "you have grown as I have. Your people do not deserve to be punished for following their King" he spared a brief glance at Danielle who smiled back at him kindly "your people are welcome in the Alliance. when the vote is re-cast' I shall vote for you."

"It pleases me to hear that, your Highness" Genn replied as he gave Varian's hand a sturdy shake.

"Please, call me Varian. But first, I am in need of your help" his voice turned serious "in my drunken haze I was given a report that Ashenvale had been attacked by the Horde. I do not have time to send work to Stormwind for aid but your people could help."

"We would be honored, if it means protecting the night elves who saved us we will fight by your side" Genn turned to one of his men, "tell any able-bodied fighters that our elven allies need help." The worgen nodded and ran away. Genn then turned to Danielle "go get ready" she nodded and hurried off.

"Are you sure she should come along? She looks too dainty to be a warrior."

Genn chuckled fondly "I would not be able to dissuade her if I tried. If we are to be allies then there is much to be discussed about the lass. Adopting her for the simple reason of her being alone was only a small part" Varian looked curious but did not ask, if he was to know then he would be told when the time was right, Ashenvale was more important "for now we must focus on battle, I shall see you at the back gate of Darnassus" Varian nodded and hurried off to ready himself. This time, the Horde would lose.

* * *

The worgens ran through the forests with swiftness whilst Varian rode on his horse. He felt a rush to fight alongside beings with such power and connection to the forest. Genn ran on one side of his horse whilst Danielle ran on the other. He wondered what her skills in battle was briefly but was more focused on beating the Horde.

Unfortunately, they were already too late, the Horde was already there when he was drinking, no doubt Ashenvale was overrun but he wouldn't leave it defenseless any longer. "the elves are already in battle with the Horde!" Genn shouted as they neared their destination.

"Charge!" Varian shouted as he raised his trusted sword Shalamayne high into the air. The worgens howled as they entered the battle. The orcs snarled in surprise as they saw these beasts charge at them. They had no knowledge that the Alliance had gained worgens as allies. The night elves had already lost and Ashenvale was burned, they did not need to attack these enemies. Though the chance to murder any Alliance was tempting. "I will attack Hellscream!" Varian slaughtered any orcs that tried to attack him as he charged towards his foe.

"Ahh, the weak King has come to challenge me" Garrosh sneered evilly, he was nearly drooling for the chance to kill this insolent cur "at last you shall fall to my blade"

"And you shall fall to mine!" Varian growled as he swung his mighty blade. Garrosh was quick to block with his axe and follow through with his own attack. The battle was vicious as both swung with hatred for the other.

Garrosh was loosing as Varian had the strength of Goldrinn on his side but the orc would not stop until the vile human lay dead at his feet. "you will perish!" he growled as he was struck by Shalamayne.

"Not today" Varian went for the final blow but was interrupted by Kor'kron orcs who rushed to their warchiefs side. The blood skinned orc was able to escape as his soldiers attacked the King.

The worgens came to his aid and soon the battle was done, only they were too late to stop them. Ashenvale had been burnt to the ground and many elves had lost their lives. "I made a grave mistake this day," Varian said darkly to Genn "in my grief I allowed innocents to die."

"We all lose ourselves to grief" Danielle commented as she strode up to his side "all we can do is move on and focus on becoming stronger so we don't make the same mistakes."

"You are wise for one so young" she snorted unladylike at the Kings words.

"I am hardly young, unless you count 26 six as young."

"In fact I do. Not young as a child but young as a warrior."

"That is true" she looked at his arm and noticed a deep wound "allow me to heal you, my lord."

"It is not a bother" he replied as he noticed the cut on his arm "I have had worse."

"I can definitely see that," she said as she stared at the deep scar on his face.

"Not the most flattering of scars, unfortunately," he said jokingly, though he did not care for his scars, they were something that reminded him of his time as Lo'Gosh.

She shook her head "I happen to find scars quite attractive. They should be worn with pride."

"Dani" Genn warned, "what have I told you about flirting with men in my presence."

"Not to?" she said innocently.

The King of Gilneas chuckled "one day you will learn to close that mouth of yours."

"One day, just not this day."

"I had noticed she has quite a terrible filter," Varian said in amusement "she had given me a stern talking to the day before. Even going so far as to say I was as stubborn as a mule" Varian chuckled at the deep blush that spread on the woman's face.

"I-I was angered, that's all. You would do the same, would you not?"

"Yes, I would. I am not angered by your words, I believed they helped me to see past my rage."

"Then I am glad she did not keep her mouth shut," Genn said with a chuckle "we must return to Malfurion and inform him of what happened here."

The next day, the meeting was reconvened and this time, all representatives voted yes to bringing the Gilneans into the Alliance. Varian had also apologized for his rage and explained how some rage was needed in order to protect those you love.

Finally, the people who had lost so much were given hope for a brighter future.


	6. The Cataclysm

After the Gilneans were admitted into the Alliance, the Gilneas royals were asked by Varian Wrynn himself to live at the castle. There were plenty of rooms that were always empty, ones reserved the Varian's closest friends. Stormwind castle was a lot brighter and less dreary than the Gilnean castle, which Danielle was glad for. Gilneas gave off a depressing vibe and when she was told why she could understand.

She was settling in nicely to her new routine. She's wake up and be dressed by her ladies maid that was assign to her after she had her morning bath. She would then take dinner with her family and Varian. After that she would train by herself as she had yet to be assign a blades master or priest to be her teacher. If she was not training she would be reading any books she could get her hands on that had the history of Azeroth. If she was to participate in the war against the Horde, she'd need to know why the Alliance hated them.

She had read that the Horde had murdered Varian's father and destroyed Stormwind, now they were trying to take over Azeroth. She could now understand why Varian was so harsh to everyone. She wouldn't be able to handle losing her father, both biological and adopted.

Today she decided to train a little, she wore a simple white tunic and brown pants with black leather boots and gloves to help with training, it would be difficult to train in a dress. She first started with a light jog around the gardens of Stormwind castle to wake her up and get her blood pumping. Next she started doing stretches so she wouldn't pull a muscle. Once that was done she used her swords to attack a wooden dummy that she had asked to be set up in the gardens. She hated training with the guards as they would rather stare at the attractive princess than do what they intended to do. All of Stormwind was curious about the royal family that moved into the castle. Already many of the nobles were shoving their sons in both hers and Tess' face in the hopes of Genn setting up an engagement. He always refused, however. After losing Liam he realized that his daughters should live their lives the way they want. He did not want them to hate their lives if they ever lost them.

She was working up a nice rhythm when she was startled by a deep voice "what did that dummy ever do to you?" she swung her swords around and pointed them at her startler, Varian. "my apologies, I never meant to scare you."

She sighed and lowered her sword "sorry, it seems I get startled easy nowadays."

"I'm sorry if this is impertinent but you are lacking on your left hand."

She huffed but nodded "I've only been able to learn for a year and did not have the greatest teacher."

"I quite agree, your teacher must have never taught before" The king walked over to her and grabbed her left sword "when you first start duelist training you must always start with one sword. You must be proficient in one hand before training with the other."

"So I need to train with only my right hand?"

"Yes, I have seen you fight, you are good against one enemy but against multiple, I am sure you will die."

"You are quite a blunt man."

"I'd rather speak my mind than hide behind sugar coated words." He raised his sword in a basic stance "shall we begin?"

"You…you want to teach me?" she asked in shock.

"I am not busy with meeting or reports. What better way to learn how to fight than to be trained by the King of Stormwind himself" she gave him a wide grin and happily listened to his instructions. He was much better than her old teacher, for one he didn't actively try to hurt her like her old teacher did. Whilst he agreed with how getting hurt will stop her from making the same mistakes, he wanted to teach her how not to get hurt.

After training until 3 in the afternoon they decided to take a break. They walked to his study and drank greedily from a water skin they were each given "that was very productive. I learnt more in 4 hours than I did in a month" Danielle said pleasantly, she did feel pain but she felt satisfied with it.

"I am glad" Varian replied as he took a large gulp of water "tell me, has a priest been assigned to train you?"

"No, I haven't needed to yet" Varian looked at her in confusion "you see, my powers in the light are not my own. I was saved by a Prime Naaru who gave me her life essence, her power is now mine but it has yet to settle. There is no point in training when my power will not comply to my whims."

"I see. I have never heard of such a thing occurring though I am not doubting the possibility. I believe the High Priestess of Stormwind will be happy to teach you, knowing your powers were a gift from the Light."

"If she is willing than I will be happy to learn from her" the King watched Danielle as she pondered something.

"What is on your mind?"

"Genn has mentioned me be a special case, yes?" he nodded, remembering how Genn hinted at her adoption being more than pity "what I am about to tell you is not to leave this room, my father believes it may put my life in danger." Varian leant forward slightly in his chair, eager to finally be told the answer to his burning question. Who was she? "you see…the Prime Naaru had saved my life and brought me to this world…from another…"

A silence filled the room as Varian tried to process her announcement. He was heavily inclined to believe her statement. He's been to another world, the Emerald Dreamway was in a different dimension that was only connected to Azeroth by the power of a Druid, so it would makes sense that a person could come from another world via great power. It was believed that the titans were from another world as well. How strange it was to believe it to be true despite sounding completely impossible. "I have been to another world before, though it was through a dream."

Danielle perked up at that, showing him a curious look that was so reminiscing of his son, Anduin, who had gotten that expression from his mother. He knew that he was seeing this woman as Tiffin due to their similar qualities, she was not a complete replica but due to his longing for his dead wife he was seeing Danielle as such. It was not fair on the Gilnean woman but it was hard to see her differently, though perhaps with this revelation he would be able to. "Really? Tyrande had briefly spoke of the Emerald Dreamway but only in passing. It comforts me that there are other worlds that are accessible through this one. Perhaps I am not the only one who was brought here."

"Would you ever want to return?"

She frowned "of course, to say goodbye but my life is here now. I was told I am meant to be here for a greater purpose than hanging around a castle and doing nothing. I mean, a Prime Naaru would not give her life away to save someone that was not meant for anything."

"I suppose we shall see what you are here for when the time comes. Thank you for telling me this, your secret is safe with me. Only your family, myself and the High Priestess shall ever know about your gift from the Light."

"Malfurion and Tyrande know, and Prophet Velen saw it the moment he laid eyes on me" Varian frowned at that name. He had nothing against Velen, only the memory that his son had abandoned him for the Draenei. He knew it was his own fault that Anduin left him but it did not make him any less angry about it.

"Are you alright?" Danielle asked in concern.

"Yes, I am fine. Let us turn to a lighter note-" the King was interrupted when the castle shook "what in Azeroth?" the two jumped from their chairs and raced outside the castle "men! What is happening?!" Varian shouted to one of his guards.

"It-it's a dragon!" the guard shouted as he pointed to the large shadow flying towards Stormwind. Its body looked as though it was made of molten lava, its wings spewed ash and smoke over the ground with each flap. It landed on the gate of Stormwind and let out a roar so loud, so mighty, that it shook the entire earth. People screamed and ran away from the massive dragon as fast as they could, even some of the soldiers of Stormwind.

"I can feel its rage" Danielle said in fear, she unconscious shuffled closer to Varian as the dragon gazed over the kingdom.

"What is this beast?" Varian growled, he had faced many dragons, even demons yet none had instilled such fear as this monster did. "we must protect Stormwind! Bring everyone into the castle, it is the strongest keep!" the soldiers that didn't flee nodded and hurried out to bring everyone into the castle.

"Deathwing…" Danielle whispered as the dragons eyes stared down at her and Varian "it calls itself…Deathwing…"

"Get behind me" Varian pulled the frozen woman behind him and unsheathed Shalamayne, he had heard this name before. The Destroyer, Aspect of Death, The Worldbreaker, The Black Scourge…and the father of Katrana Prestor. The dragon looked at the mortal King and smirked evilly, with one last mighty roar he took to the sky and flew through the air. People continued to scream until he was completely out of sight.

"What…what was that?" Danielle whispered to Varian's back. He did not turn around, all he said in reply was,

"The Cataclysm."


	7. The Resurrection

Danielle continued to feel terrified even after she was ushered inside by Varian. She had never seen a Dragon before, she never thought they would be so…terrifying. When Deathwing stared at them she had heard his name whispered in her mind. Neltharion, Deathwing. It seems that Tal'zera was not completely lost to her. "Are you two alright?" Genn asked hastily as he rushed to the two royals side, he pulled Danielle into his chest when he saw her visibly shaking.

"We're fine" Varian replied gruffly so that he could hide the slight fear coursing through him "a little shaken but fine."

"What was happening outside?" Genn asked with great concern "when I saw people being ushered into the castle I feared the worst."

"The Aspect of Death has returned to Azeroth" the King of Stormwind growled hatefully.

"Deathwing? But I have heard the stories, I thought the other Aspects destroyed him."

"No, they only weakened him and now he is back. We must convene the leaders of the Alliance. We cannot hope to defeat this evil alone."

"Most will be arriving in three days' time for remembrance day. I shall send word though no doubt they already know" Varian was secretly waiting impatiently for remembrance day as that would be when his son, Anduin, would return. He wanted to reconcile with his son, to apologize for the mistakes he made that forced his son to flee in the first place. The memory of his son staring up at him in fear, disgust, and pain flashed through his mind. Never again will he let his rage consume him.

"Of course" Genn nodded to the King before looking down at his trembling daughter "come, Dani, Mia is desperate to see you are well. I have forbidden her to leave our room" she nodded and walked with the King of Gilneas.

Varian watched her go as he remembered what she had revealed to him. Maybe this was why she was brought to this world, to stop Deathwing. No, that had to be impossible, the woman barely knew how to fight and was terrified at the sight of the monstrous dragon. How could she possibly be able to defeat the aspect of death? Then again, the light works in mysterious ways, maybe there is something hidden deep within her that had yet to reveal itself. If that was the case, he would help to bring it forth. The High Priestess will train her in the ways of the light and he will be the one to train her in the way of the sword. Who better to teach her than someone who has seen the limits a warrior can reach, and who better to help her restrain her rage than a man who has fought it for more years than he can count.

For now, he needed to focus on Deathwing.

* * *

Anduin had arrived early in the morning on remembrance day. He was nervous, he did not know how to face his father after what happened in Darnassus. He had tried to convince his father to let the citizens on Gilneas join the Alliance but Varian would not listen. Disappointed, Anduin told his father that he was leaving with Prophet Velen to study in the light. He turned to go but Varian had grabbed onto his arm, painfully. It was at that moment that Anduin felt fear as he looked at the wild look his father had in his eyes.

The prince knew his father deeply regretted his actions but it was not so easy to forgive him. How long before Varian would do it again, would he be able to forgive him a second time.

He had no answer to that so instead, he decided to avoid his father by walking around the castle. So deep in his thoughts, he did not see the woman in front of him until he collided into her. He heard a gasp and felt two soft hands grasp his shoulder firmly so he would not fall back "I'm so sorry I-" he stopped when he looked up into the eyes of his mother. No, this wasn't his mother, yet she was so similar. The kindness she radiated, the warmth, it was unlike any he had felt but from his mother. This woman was at Darnassus, the eldest princess of Gilneas he believed.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly in concern.

"Y-yes, I was lost in my thoughts and was not watching where I was going. I am sorry for walking into you" she smiled and shook her head.

"Its fine, I do that sometimes as well. You are prince Anduin, yes?" he nodded "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, my name is Danielle Greymane."

"A pleasure" he replied with a kind smile. He quite liked this woman, she spoke to him as a person and not a prince.

"What were you deep in thought about, if you don't mind me asking?"

He frowned, hesitant to reveal his inner turmoil to a stranger. Though, he supposed it could not hurt to get another's opinion "I had had a bit of a falling out with my father back in Darnassus. I was the subject of his rage and could no longer stand it so I left him. But now that I have returned home I am hesitant to speak to him, even more so to forgive him."

"I know all too well the troubles with rage. Seeing as I am infected with the worgen curse, it is all too easy to succumb to the rage and lash out. Your father suffered similar effects" she stopped and motioned to the bench on the other side of the hallway. A strange place to put a bench but Anduin had sat here many times to ponder on many things, his father thought it humorous to bring in a bench so his sons feet would not ache "I'm sure you remember how your father was split in two" Anduin nodded "well, when he was rejoined he never truly became one. Two sides, Varian and Lo'Gosh, continued to battle for control for many years until my father, gave him a solution" Anduin perked up, curious as to what could change his father "the night elves had created a ritual that would help worgens to find balance and peace between both sides, human, and wolf. Seeing as your father was quite similar, Genn thought that the ritual would do the same. And it did. From my brief encounter with your father in Darnassus, it was easy to tell he was brash, rude and quick to temper but now…I have not seen your father lash out at anything since my stay at Stormwind keep" she sighed and placed a hand delicately on his shoulders "I am not telling you this to make you forgive your father, I have merely given you information so you can make the decision on your own. You can only have one Varian…could you really bare to lose him when you are divided like this?"

Her words resonated with him deeply. If his father was to perish, he would immensely regret the rift that had settled between them. His father haf suffered much, and his personality reflects that. But if what Danielle said was true, then perhaps his father had changed and would become the man he was always meant to be. "thank you, this has helped me to sort out my dilemmas."

"I'm glad, no family should be divided. Especially in times of war. The people of Stormwind need to see a unity in the Wrynn family, your strength is their strength."

"You are quite wise" Anduin jokily stated.

Danielle giggled "I just read a lot of books is all."

A man cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the two royals "my apologize for the interruption, your majesties" it was Archbishop Benedictus "I was wondering if you would be able to come with me to your mother memorial, Anduin, there is something I wish to discuss with you there" the request seemed awfully suspicious but the Bishop was trusted by the two royals. He was a kind man who always knew how to help people in need.

"Of course, would you mind if my lady came along? I would like to show her my mothers memorial" Danielle could tell that was the prince's way of secretly telling her he may need her help and that he did not trust going with the Bishop alone. He may not have much of his father in him but his ability to see danger was luckily passed down to the younger Wrynn.

The bishop's gaze narrowed for a moment before brightening "of course not, it is no bother. Come, before night falls" the two nobles nodded and followed him. They were immensely grateful to have their weapons on them, whatever would happen, they needed to be well equipped to defend themselves.

They arrived at the memorial and were startled to see Varian there. The King looked at his son fondly who in turn looked back at Varian with confusion. "I'm sorry to have brought you here so suddenly but I thought I should give the King his gift with his son beside him" Benedictus reached into his robes and pulled out a beautiful silver key. It was the key to Tiffin's locket.

Varian smiled gratefully at the Bishop "thank you, Benedictus, you are a great man. I hesitate to think what I would do without you"

The Archbishop bowed his head "please, allow me to leave you to it" he turned to go and as he did he waved his arm once more "peace be with you both" he said as he disappeared into the thick trees.

Varian twirled the key in his fingers as he pondered on the strange words the Archbishop had said until he noticed his son was watching him. All the harsh things he had wanted to say was of no consequence as he realized that Anduin was more important than everything. He did not care if his son was not ready for the crown, all that mattered was that his son was alive and happy.

Danielle turned around and looked at the flowers, she felt uncomfortable with watching an intimate moment between father and son.

"Here," Varian said as he passed his late wife's key to his son who gasped and stared at him happily. He did not have much to remember his mother by but with this key he felt whole again. Tears began to well in the young prince's eyes, he lunged for his father and hugged him. Varian smiled fondly at his son and hugged him back just as tightly. This was his world, the one thing that meant more to him than any possession of value.

"I wish so much that I was more like you, father." Anduin said softly into his father's chest "I do want to be a great king. But…I am not…as strong." He stepped back and wiped his tears angrily as if they were a sign of weakness.

Varian pulled him back into his arms "no, Anduin. You have more courage than I do. And it flows from a place deep within your heart. Remember what your uncle Magni used to say? Strength comes in many forms…"

They both repeated the last part of the line in unison "both small and large."

Danielle smiled to herself as she heard that, it was a touching moment and she was glad to have witnessed it. Turning around, she looked at the prince and King and smiled sheepishly "sorry to ahh… stand here awkwardly…I just…" she motioned to the empty area surrounding them.

Varian nodded in understanding "that's quite alright. You would no doubt have been attacked by the ambush that has been set up by the Archbishop" he felt betrayed by the bishop but he would ponder on that later "so tell me, from what direction do you think the ambush will come?" they drew their weapons and faced the enemies that soon surrounded them "protect Anduin" Varian ordered Danielle "and I shall protect you both" she nodded and stood on the other side of the prince who drew his arrow back and fired at the charging cultist. They had heard of the twilight hammer cult who served Deathwing. It seemed that the Archbishop had joined said cult.

They fought with all the strength they possessed. Anduin fired his arrows as hastily and accurately as he could. Varian used all his strength and skill to keep his son, and even Danielle alive. The princess fought off the remaining attackers that were not focused on the King, she was glad for Varian's teachings, otherwise, she would have died at the beginning.

The cultists were dead but the battle was not over. Whilst fighting they did not notice the warlock in the background using all his power to open a summoning portal. From that portal came a Draconic, a half dragon – half man hybrid that thirsted for blood. It was the largest that Varian had ever seen.

The trio, with their backs to the wall, tried to bring the beast down but it was too powerful. Anduin fired the last of his arrows into the beast but they were like a hail on a tin roof, they could not penetrate the monsters thick armor. He could only watch in anguish as his father and Danielle tried in vain to kill the creature.

Not knowing what else to do, Varian pushed Danielle out of the way and felt the burning bite of the monsters blade slice through his armor and continue deep into his ribcage. The force of the attack slammed the King into the ground. Despite his grievous wound, his eyes stared at his son, making sure that he was unharmed.

Danielle roared mightily and allowed her worgen form to take over. With her sword discarded, she raced forward and used her claws to swipe at the beast's armor. The beast laughed and as if she was an insignificant fly he swatted at her, causing her to fly into the wall and shatter it. She gasped at the agonizing pain she felt as her bones broke. She fell to the floor and tumbled towards the King who still had the Dragonspawn's axe embedded within him. She could not scream as her body returned to its human shape, it was as if the pain was so strong that it took away her voice. Varian spared her a glance and nodded at her broken form, silently thanking her for trying to save his son. It was a brave thing to do despite knowing she was no match for the dragon hybrid. She had garnered great respect from him in that moment.

Anduin watched on in horror as he stared at the two beings in front of him. Danielle's body was twisted and mangled from the force of being attack and the impact of hitting the stone brick wall. Bones were protruding through her muscle and skin, and blood mingled with his fathers who was nearly cut in half. The prince let out a wail of anguish, unable to bear the sight of seeing his father in such a state. And though he had only met Danielle briefly, she had sacrificed herself to save both him and Varian from death. She was too sweet to die in such a horrible way.

Varian stared at his son and uttered a single word "run…" he hoped his son would listen to his words.

Danielle gurgled as she tried to tell the prince to run but the blood welling up in her throat was stopping her from doing such a thing. Darkness began to encroach on her vision and she began to panic. This was not how she wanted to die, completely mangled and broken. As the darkness took her over she apologized to her family for leaving them. All of her family.

Anduin watched as the creature sneered down at Varian and pulled his axe from the Kings chest. He knew he should have listened to his father and run but he would not leave his side. He raised his arms to the sky and allowed his power of light to come forth. A golden nova of holy energy forced the monster back. He shouted the word Barrier and a golden ball surrounded the graveyard. It shimmered and blurred as it protected the prince and his fallen protectors. The Draconic charged but Anduin was not deterred, with the light surrounding him he uttered the magic words to dispel the magic around him. The earth shook as his magic covered the land, hitting the Draconic and destroying his armor completely.

Suddenly, Varian lunged forward and used his mighty Shalamayne to defeat the beast completely. A final act of devotion to his precious son. Anduin rushed to his side and pulled his father into his arms "I am so sorry father" he said through his tears.

Varian looked at his beloved son and smiled "no, it is I who am sorry…for not seeing earlier what you are…what you have always been. I'm so proud…that you are my son" he reached up and wiped Anduin's tears away only to smear blood on his cheek "do not mourn for me, Anduin. This has always been my fate…do not let it be yours."

"No!" Anduin shouted as he shook the King "This is not how it ends! Do you hear me, father?! A Wrynn prince will not again watch a loved one die before him! This is not our fate!" Anduin screamed to the sky. As if the heavens heard him, the clouds parted. He began to change softly but soon it rose to a crescendo, a beautiful song. The words came to him from a strange whisper that surrounded him, guiding him to save the King and Princess. At first, his hands began to glow with a faint light, then they became brighter and brighter, so bright that it was akin to a setting sun. It bathed the cemetery, destroying all shadows that lurked within.

Anduin looked at Danielle and saw a being of light leave her body, it sung alongside him with a sweet melody that empowered his own magic. This was the essence he had felt within Danielle, the light that was merging with her. It wanted to save the King and Princess and had left its host to do just that.

The song reached its pitch and with it the young priest lifted his eyes to the heavens, calling for the divine power to save the people he cared about. The Naaru flew towards him and enveloped him in its warmth, giving him the divine power he so desperately pleaded for. Suddenly, liquid rays, brighter than a thousand suns bursted from Anduin's fingertips, penetrating Danielle and Varian's body, painting everything in a brilliant yellow glow. Their entire being shook by an influx of pure light. He watched in fascination as the wounds on both the beings bodies closed, bones realigned themselves and skin closed. Blood finally stopped flowing at with it the two royals were brought back from the dead.

The being of light moved away from the prince and merged itself back with its hosts. The prince had helped Danielle on this day, with her resurrection he was able to merge the two beings together. Tal'zera became Danielle and vice versa. They were whole.

Many people ran to where they saw the light and gasped at the sight they witnessed. Both the King and Princess looked as though they were dead. They worried for their Monarchs and ran to their aid. Anduin had collapsed on his father's chest, tired yet overjoyed that he has saved Varian's and Danielle's life. As he saw Stormwind guards rush to their aid he smiled and allowed himself to slumber. Everything would be alright.


	8. The House of Nobles

Memories were flying past Danielle's vision faster than she could blind. Her mind was in overdrive as all of Tal'zera's thoughts, memories, feelings and vision became hers. She saw the night she met Tal'zera through the Naaru's eyes. Along with that were visions of a particular being, she didn't know who this person was, all that she knew was that whoever Tal'zera watched over was incredibly important. She had witnessed the birth of the child and its first few years but then the visions suddenly changed to a darker side.

Creatures roared at her and shadows swarmed her, trying to bring her into a pure darkness. She screamed at the horrifying imagery that assaulted her. The army of the dead, the army of demons and monsters so ancient and so evil that they could swallow planets whole.

The pure horror she was forced to witness finally ended when she jerked awake. Her body was covered in sweat and her breathing was laboured. She looked around the room she was in with wide and fearful eyes. She knew she was in her room but she was terrified that the monsters in her visions were hiding in the shadows created by the fireplace. "Danielle?" she jerked to the voice and gasped when she saw it was her father she sighed deeply and let her muscles relax. "are you ok?"

"Yes…no…no I'm not" she sighed again and leant against the headboard, the wind blowing from the open window helped to cool down her hot, sweaty skin "how long have I been asleep?"

"An entire week" she blinked in surprise and took notice of Genn's haggard state, his clothing was tousled, his hair was unkempt and his eyes had deep bags under them. It looked as though he had not sleep in days "you were killed by the Draconic but with a great miracle Anduin brought you and Varian back. You should have woken up after a few days but when it appeared you weren't I feared the worst."

"Anduin had somehow managed to make my body and soul susceptible to merge completely with Tal'zera. I've been asleep for so long because my mind has been looking through as much as Tal'zera's memories as I could."

Now it was Genn's turn to look surprised "the merging is complete? I never thought that would be possible. Though I am happy, you are no longer in danger of being hurt by your own power."

"Yeah though all the memories and visions flashing through my head is a bit of a downside…" she wasn't going to tell him about the horror she had to witness and will no doubt continue to witness, she didn't want to worry him any further than she had done.

"Yes I suppose so…" he didn't want his daughter to deal with such a burden. A Naaru lives an incredibly long time and no doubts has millions upon millions of memories, he wondered how a mortal – no matter how special the mortal is – could handle a soul of an immortal being. "I should let you sleep, I certainly need to…we can speak tomorrow" he stood up from the chair and leant over the bed so he could kiss her forehead, Danielle smiled at the tenderness and kindness of her father and watched him leave the room.

When the door closed her smile disappeared, she did not want to fall asleep if it meant having to see more horrors. She knew that she had to go to sleep, Deathwing was wanting to destroy the entire world of Azeroth and she could not be exhausted from lack of sleep. She needed to train as hard as she could so she could be prepared. With that in mind, she crawled down the covers and fell asleep.

The next morning she slowly opened her eyes and smiled at the peaceful sleep she had. Instead of nightmares, she dreamt of that little boy, she saw him grow from a little baby to an adorable young boy. She wasn't able to identify who this boy was or if she knew him, she couldn't even tell where he lived, the memories were only of the highlights of his life. His birthdays, when he met the Menethil family, and when he first picked up the sword. Whoever this boy was, was on the tip of the tongue but Tal'zera's constant memories prevented her to dwell on it has another memory would come through.

Decided to follow her dreams and not dwell on them she got out of bed and had a long bath to wash away the funk that she had slept in for an entire week. She needed to see Varian and Anduin to see how they were. The last time she saw Varian was when he had a gigantic axe embedded in his chest, she knew he was resurrected alongside her but she couldn't get his death out of her mind since she woke up.

Once she was cleaned and dressed in a simple silky green dress she left her room in search of the King or Prince.

Varian was in a meeting with the representatives of all the Alliance factions. They had been talking about Deathwing for an entire week and hadn't been able to agree on a solution. Everyone wanted to protect their own lands and would not listen to reason. Both Genn and Varian had been trying to convince the council to band together to create an army strong enough to take down Deathwing and his followers. No matter how hard they tried to convince them they would not have it. "protecting our own lands will make it easier to completely destroy us all!" Genn shouted angrily, they had been in the meeting for an hour and he was getting frustrated "we must band together!"

"But that will leave our lands open for attack!" Muradin Bronzebeard said back just as angrily.

"That will happen regardless of whether you keep your soldiers there or not! Deathwing is too strong for us alone!" Varian growled.

An argument was about to explode but was interrupted when the thick doors to the council room opened and a person who had been sorely missed walked in "oh!" she stopped and blinked in surprise as all of the representatives turned to face her. "I'm so sorry! I came looking for Lord Varian but I suppose I should have…knocked…" she looked at her twiddling hands and ignored her blushing face.

"No, it is no bother. This meeting is getting nowhere" Varian grumbled, he was grateful for the distraction "we shall reconvene tomorrow" with his dismission, the leaders bowed to the High King of the Alliance and left the room so the King and princess were left alone. "I am glad you've finally awoken. Both Anduin and I were quite worried when you did not wake."

She smiled and walked over to him so he wasn't needing to speak loudly "I was having to deal with me merging with Tal'zera, all her memories and visions are now mine and there are **a lot** of them."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that but I am glad you are alive" he smiled at her "I've been wanting to thank you for risking your life to protect my son. That takes a lot of courage to risk your life for another."

"I couldn't stand there and watch as both you and Anduin get viciously killed by that Draconic. I talked to Anduin the first time just before the Archbishop brought us to the memorial but I felt the need to protect him. He hasn't had a long life and deserves to live more than I do. He's such a sweet boy."

"I owe you my eternal gratitude, Anduin means everything to me. I must also thank you for helping Anduin to bring me back to life. I heard that Tal'zera give Anduin the power to resurrect us, I suppose that is another reason why I owe you my eternal gratitude."

She shook her head "you don't need to thank me, it was the right thing to do and I would do it again if I had to."

"It's amazing how you can still be so kind and caring after all the hardships you have faced."

Danielle's smile lessened slightly at the memory of Liam's death and the deaths of her people "it never gets easy to live with the trauma you face but I am not going to let that control my life. I am going to continue helping people so no one has to deal with death like I have."

"That is a great way to live. Not many people are willing to risk their life for another" she returned to smiling up at him with a small blush. "I'd like it if you could sit in on the council meeting tomorrow. Perhaps you can convince them to fight Deathwing."

"I suppose I can try but I understand where they are coming from" Varian looked at her with furrowed brows "don't get me wrong, I believe that we should all band together to take care of Deathwing but people are scared, even you felt fear when you watched that demon fly over Stormwind. The others would have felt the same but they are dealing with it differently. Give them some time and they will come around."

"We don't have the luxury of time."

"I know but they will not change their mind anytime soon, the fear is still fresh."

"I suppose you are right" he chuckled deeply "you are better at advising me than my advisors."

"It's better to get an opinion from someone that wasn't raised by nobles. Peasants live hard lives and haven't been fed with a golden spoon. If you need to talk to me about anything I will be happy to listen."

"I will definitely take you up on that offer. I'm sure there will be much to deliberate in the coming days."

The door to the council room opened and a head of blonde hair poked through cautiously when it saw that it was only Varian and Danielle in the room the door was opened fully and Anduin stepped inside. "I am glad you see you awake Danielle!" the boy cheered joyously as he rushed to her side.

"Awake and healthy no thanks to you" she smiled at him widely "I am really grateful, Anduin. You saved my life."

"I'm glad that I brought you back. It would have killed me if I couldn't" he looked so sad at the prospect of failing to bring her back that she decided to overstep her boundaries and pull him into her arms. Anduin blinked in shock but the warm and kindness radiated off Danielle made him relax and hug her back.

"Don't think about what could have happened, it will only bring you down. You saved my life, I could never repay you" she stroked his hair soothingly and rhythmically so he could forget about his dark thoughts.

Varian watched the sweet moment with a fond smile. If he didn't know Anduin and Danielle than it would look like a mother comforting her son. The Gilneas princess was an incredibly kind person who exuded calmness.

Danielle gently pulled the boy back and held him at arm's length "now, time to think of happy thoughts huh?"

Anduin chuckled "I can understand why the people love you, you can make anyone love you."

"I'm awesome" she giggled and cupped her cheeks.

"Would you and father like to join me for lunch? I had heard you finally awoke and wanted to see you."

"Of course I'll join you, Varian?" Danielle said as she looked at the King of Stormwind.

"I will join you but I have to leave shortly after."

"Meetings?" Anduin asked with an amused smile when his father groaned softly so only they would hear. They were walking through the halls and ignoring the nobles who bowed and flirtily motioned to the royals as they walked to the dining room.

"I have to speak to the house of nobles to discuss armaments and the royal coffers. We need to start getting ready to send out troops and we need money for that."

"Oh, that must be fine. Good luck with that" Danielle chuckled at Varian's displeased expression.

"You're laughing now but your father wants you to join the meetings as you will be taking over once he steps down as King of Gilneas" the princess immediately stopped laughing and looked up at his amused face in shock.

"Right…I knew that" now it was her turn to groan. Who knew that you'd still be the heir to the throne if you are the eldest, adopted or not. "what do I have to do there, father hasn't prepared me for any of this?" she asked as they sat down.

"Simply offer to advise, strategies and argue with the nobles when they don't agree with you."

Danielle shrugged "that doesn't seem so bad, what about pledging Gilnean's armaments and soldiers? I haven't spoken to father about that at all."

"That can be discussed with your father present at a later time. Genn believes that you should sit in on this council to get a feel for how council meetings will go."

"Oh, joy" she replied sarcastically as the servants placed their food in front of them.

"I'm sure you will do fine," Anduin said comfortingly from across the table.

"You have a way with words Anduin. You could sell water to a drowning man."

"What a bizarre analogy" Anduin replied thoughtfully "I like it."

For the rest of lunch, they chatted idly about life and future events until it was time to head to their duties.

* * *

Danielle was fingering her dress awkwardly as she stood beside Varian in the war room. This was her first proper with the house of Nobles. She had conversed with them briefly at social gatherings but not any further than that. "You'll do fine, you are a princess and they are lords. Show your station and authority and they can do nothing."

"That doesn't stop the nervous feelings. But thanks for trying," just as she opened her mouth to speak the doors opened and 4 nobles walked in. The first was Count Remington Ridgewell, a kind man with a passion for art. His family owned a museum in the old town quarter of Stormwind. They briefly nodded to each other before the next noble walked in.

The next man was Lord Gregor Lescovar was a spineless man who was greedy for power. Danielle did not trust the man one bit but he was part of the House of Nobles and now so was she so she had to deal with him. He had been trying to set her up with his son Aldous but she denied him every time. Instead of greeting him she ignored him completely so he wouldn't start a conversation that would lead to his son.

The last of the nobles was Lord Baurles K. Wishock. He's the oldest of the group but not the smartest. He would rather spend his money on drinking at the Slaughtered Lamb tavern in the Mage Quarter. He had good advise and strategy skills but that was all he was good for. The Wishock name carried weight in the court so that was the only reason why he was apart of the House of Noble.

"May we begin? I have much to do today" Lescovar drawled lazily, he acted as if he was above everyone, including King Varian himself.

"We don't run on your time, Gregor" Varian growled, he wished he could kill the man but knew he couldn't "this meeting is important."

"I'm sorry my King but I must ask" the slimy bastard sneered over at Danielle "why is she here?"

Danielle raised a delicate eyebrow and smirked: "I'm sorry but my father could not be here today so I am taking his place, seeing as I'm heir to my families name" she loved to remind him how she was royalty and he was a simple nobleman. "Now, may we begin?"

"Yes, lets" Varian spared an amused glance with Danielle and began the meeting.


	9. A New Island

After an exhausting meeting with the other House of Nobles, Danielle retreated to her room for a nice glass of whiskey. She never used to like that stuff but since coming here she learned to enjoy it. She had received a letter from recruiter Burns to ask for her help with the attacks of Alliance ships but she was undecided on whether she wanted to go, hence why she was drinking. A knock at the door broke through her relaxing, with a deep groan she hopped up from her chair in front of the fireplace and opened her door. "Oh, Varian? I thought you had paperwork?"

"I just finished and I wanted to talk to you about something" Danielle nodded and stepped away from the door so he could step inside.

"I was having a drink of whiskey if that's ok with you?" the King nodded and followed her to the chairs in front of the fireplace "would you like a glass?"

"Yes, the biggest glass you have" she chuckled and nodded as she grabbed two glasses and filled them up to the top. She handed his glass to him and sat down on the seat beside him,

"What do you need to talk about?" she took a small sip and waited for him to speak. He seemed to be troubled by something.

"Have you heard about the recent attacks by the Horde on our trade ships?" she nodded "I want to join my soldiers to battle the Horde."

She furrowed her brows "you make it sound like that is a bad thing."

"Most people think it is, my advisors believe that it is too dangerous for me to join the fight. The Alliance cannot lose their King but…I long for the rush of battle, to fight alongside my men" he looked incredibly frustrated and undecided, both points were valid but Danielle thought only one side should matter.

"Do it" Varian stopped taking a drink to stare at her in surprise "you're an incredibly skilled Warrior and would be a great asset to the Alliance Navy. You can join me."

"You've been asked to join?"

"Yes, all abled bodied Alliance citizens have been asked, this is a real threat and can be detrimental to trade between lands. Having you with us could really boost morale."

"Then I'll join. It has been quite some time since I've been in battle" he would have to ask Genn if he could take over his duties.

"Excellent" she raised her glass "a toast to our future victory" he chuckled and raised his glass to clink against hers, they pulled back and skulled the remaining whiskey. "oh man" Danielle strained whilst trying not to cough, her throat was burning "not quite used to straight whiskey."

Varian let out a bellowing laugh "we must drink more often than to strengthen your resolve."

"Yes, we must so I propose we finish the rest of the whiskey before we go to battle tomorrow" he nodded and they continued to talk and drink for the rest of the night.

* * *

After consoling and comforting her family, Danielle had donned her armour, packed her bags and headed to the Stormwind Harbour with the King. He was flocked with an entire royal court guard, they were unable to get on the ship but would escort him up to it. He had to force her lips to remain shut when she saw the irritated look on Varian's face, she knew all too well the irritation with being treated like you were fragile.

They had brief words with the Captain of the ship before taking off. It was strange that they were fighting the Horde on a mercenary ship and not an Alliance one so both Varian and Danielle kept their guards up. Just as they were nearing an island the Captain called for attention so the King could speak. "That island over the horizon is our destination. It is where we will do our duty, for Stormwind, for her people, and for the Alliance!" Varian shouted as he addressed the brave souls who volunteered for the mission "every Horde you slay today will bring honour to our people and to every soldier who has come before you. Hellscream has sent his best to take this island. We shall see to it that none return home! Today, Hellscream shall learn the lesson that Thrall failed to teach him, Stormwind shall never fall!" a loud wave of cheers and claps surrounded the King and Princess, the motivation Varian could instill in people with just his words was astounding and Danielle wished she could say powerful words like he could but she would probably just stutter and look foolish. "now get ready for soon we'll be ashore" the large group of men and woman dispersed to ready their weapons and watch for any danger.

"What do you think we will find on this island?" Danielle asked Varian.

"The Horde will have already established a base on the island but what resides on the island is unknown, be prepared and stay beside me at all times" he replied sternly, he was not about to let Danielle get hurt or worse. Why was she even going when she knew that she wasn't a skilled swordsman or priest? He wasn't about to stop her as it was her wish but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Yes sir" she saluted mocking which earned her a bemused snort from the King.

"Captain! Your Highnesses! Shipwreck off the Starboard bow!" one of the soldiers shouted. Everyone walked to the left side of the boat "there appear to be survivors."

"Weigh anchor!" the Captain shouted, they pulled to a stop to bring on the stranded alliance citizens.

Suddenly, two large tentacles shot out of the water, swinging around wildly. Everyone pulled out their weapons as the monstrous tentacles grabbed all the stranded citizens and pulled them back into the murky depths "what in the world was that!?" Danielle shouted loudly over the terrified screams of the crew of the mercenary ship.

"Get back!" Varian grabbed the princess' arm and pulled her away from the edge just as an even larger tentacle shot up in front of them. Soon a multitude of tentacles sprouted and attacked the ship "watch out!" the King screamed as Danielle was sideswiped by the largest tentacle, he watched helplessly as she flew over the ship and into the water below. Without thinking, the King dived into, sword drawn, and swam over to the unconscious princess. He battled his way through the Naga that swam towards him, trying desperately to get to the woman before the Naga did. He watched as a fireball shot out and attacked the Naga who attacked him and Danielle.

It was a Dreanai. How he came to be in the water was a mystery but the King was glad all the same. The King swam to the Princesses side and held her close, just because this being was a Dreanai does not mean he was their ally. "Relax friend" the being spoke "she has not passed away…yet, sadly the others cannot say the same" Varian watched with narrowed eyes and the mage nodded to him and placed a large bubble around them. The King was unable to do anything as they floated through the ocean, so long as this bubble took them to land than he was happy.

* * *

When Danielle woke up she felt instant pain on the right side of her body, she groaned loudly and opened her eyes. Why was she looking up at a boat? Was she upside down? "Danielle?"

She recognized the deep, rough voice and looked to the left to see Varian sitting beside her in a soaked white blouse and brown trousers "Varian? Why am I looking at the bottom of a boat?"

Varian helped her to sit up and said, "you were knocked out by a Kraken and nearly killed by a Naga but a Dreanai saved us and brought us here…we are the only survivors."

She sighed in sadness and looked down at her feet. So many people had volunteered to serve the King, innocent people who had families. "no one survived?" she asked hopelessly, already knowing the answer.

"No one…" the King was taking the loss of his people harder than she was, they were his people and his responsibility, every death was on him.

"Death is terrible but can fuel your determination" they turned to see the Dreanai who saved them walked toward them. "use it to avenge the people who were lost this day."

"Are you the man who saved us?" Danielle asked.

"Yes."

"Do you know why we were attacked?" Varian asked as he stood up from the roof of the boat, he has fought the Naga on numerous occasions and always for a reason but this…he had no idea why they attacked.

Erunak chuckled "not exactly the battle you had anticipated, I'll wager. But a battle nonetheless, as you shall soon see…Welcome to the Briny Cutter, your highnesses. I am Erunak Stonespeaker of the Earthen Ring and the last surviving passenger of this once-proud vessel. I'm afraid your travails have only just begun. The Naga have been attacking here relentlessly."

"Have you been able to identify why?" Danielle asked from the floor, she wanted to stand but her right side was heavily bruised and probably broken.

"No, and I fear we are not equipped to take them on yet but I can remedy that. Just outside this ship live a special breed of starfish. If you are willing to help me collect some and perhaps a conch shell I can prepare an enchantment that should help to increase our chances of survival."

Varian nodded "I will help but Danielle must remain here. You have healed her as much as you can with the limited supplies you have and I thank you for that but she is still heavily injured."

"Yes, please don't make me move…I can even breathe without feeling like I am tearing my body in half" Erunak nodded.

"You may remain here to rest and heal, perhaps I can find more healing supplies whilst I am out there. I will meet you on top of the boat." The Dreanai nodded to the royals and dived into the water.

"Will you be fine here by yourself?" Varian asked in concern, he felt guilty that she was injured.

"Yes, nothing will come in here. We need Erunak to help us" she gave him a reassuring smile "so go, and be safe."

"I will" he grabbed his armoured and donned it quickly, all the while wishing he knew that he would be swimming for long amounts of time, he would have worn a lighter armour. "Try not to move around and aggravate your injuries."

"I've hurt myself plenty of times before, I know how to take care of myself."

"That doesn't ease my concerns, I will return as soon as I can" she nodded and waved him off as he dived into the ocean.


End file.
